One Piece : Strongest Vice-Captain Mr. 3!

Stainless tightly gripped his katana, his breath expanding as he coated it with a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki in advance.

If the sudden appearance of Mr. 3 had made him tense, on high alert as if facing a great enemy, then the breathtaking beauty standing behind Mr. 3, arms crossed, caused a chill of despair to sink deep into his heart:

Why... Why is the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, who should have been surrounded and dealt with by Captain Koby and his team, here with her entire Kuja Pirates?!

The shock in Stainless's heart was indescribable. His eyes darted, landing on the subordinate beside him, who was barely holding up against the pressure of the Conqueror's Haki.

Although he couldn't understand why Hancock had appeared here, one thing was clear: she was aligned with the Buggy Pirates!

Facing this reality, Stainless wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could take on two Warlord-level pirate crews at once, so he began to think about an escape route and how to ensure the safety of his subordinates.

In stark contrast to Stainless and his frightened soldiers, the atmosphere in the Buggy Pirates camp was one of wild celebration.

Upon recognizing Mr. 3, the crew members broke into excited and exuberant smiles, laughing loudly and arrogantly.

"Mr. 3? Mr. 3! It's Mr. 3!!"

"Mr. 3's back! And he brought a bunch of beautiful ladies with him!"

"Hey! Don't shout so loudly! Take a look at who's standing behind Mr. 3!"

"Huh? Wait! It's... The Pirate Empress... Boa Hancock???"

"Holy crap! So Mr. 3's secret mission was to join forces with the Kuja Pirates?!"

"Mr. 3! I'm so sorry! I just cursed you earlier, thinking you were abandoning us... I was wrong about you, Mr. 3!"

"So it wasn't that man, but this man! Mr. 3 is awesome!!!"

---

Ahead of the rising cheers, Alvida and the others standing at the edge of the large balcony were also stunned, unable to believe that Mr. 3 had actually managed to recruit the Kuja Pirates.

What was even more unbelievable was that he hadn't fallen into the endless allure of beauty but had instead kept his thoughts on their old comrades!

"This guy… really knows how to get things done. Our lives are finally saved."

Beast Tamer Mohji let out a heavy sigh of relief.

The captain of the Kuja Pirates, Hancock, was a genuine powerhouse—an unmeasurable force. Her strength was on an entirely different level compared to their own captain, Buggy.

With her and the Kuja Pirates joining the fray, defeating Stainless and resolving the crisis at Karai Bari Island was as good as done!

"Aha, ahaha! As expected of Mr. 3! I knew that leaving it to a man like him would be no problem at all!" 

Unicycle acrobat Cabaji wiped the sweat from his brow, relieved and thankful to have survived this ordeal.

"Who would've thought… he actually brought the Pirate Empress here, and..."

Alvida silently took down the spiked club from her shoulder. As she looked at Mr. 3 with surprise, there was a hint of something else in her gaze.

"Is it just me, or does this guy seem a lot more... likable now?"

"That's not the point!"

Buggy, who had just fallen and was now standing on his feet, his body separating and floating back together using the powers of the Chop-Chop Fruit, looked over at Mr. 3 and then at Hancock. His expression turned serious as he spoke.

"The real point is that the Conqueror's Haki just now didn't come from Mr. 3—it was from Boa Hancock, who already possesses the three types of Haki!"

He emphasized the name "Hancock," almost as if saying it would make him more certain that Mr. 3 wasn't the one with the Conqueror's Haki.

He wasn't the least bit jealous of others awakening Conqueror's Haki. In fact, he would wish them all the best. 

But as someone who had been through thick and thin with his old comrades, Buggy genuinely didn't want to see Mr. 3 or Cabaji, his old friends, awakening Conqueror's Haki.

It wasn't because he was worried they'd become stronger than him, but simply because he didn't want to see his close friends outshine him in style!

With that thought, Buggy's usual clownish expression suddenly turned into one of comical dread. "Please, Mr. 3, anyone but you!"

His "mischief" friends had the same sentiment.

"It's obvious, isn't it? If Mr. 3 awakened the Conqueror's Haki, I'll swallow this unicycle right here!" Cabaji said, pointing at his unicycle with determination.

Alvida raised her spiked club and added, "I'll bite this thing into pieces, not leaving a single fang!"

With that, they both turned toward Beast Tamer Mohji, who was looking a bit confused.

Mohji, in his white coat, glanced around before finally landing his gaze on Lion Richie. "Then I… I'll swallow Richie whole!"

Upon hearing this, Lion Richie's fur stood on end, his big, innocent eyes wide in confusion. "???"

Jealousy had twisted the faces of these friends!

To be fair, it wasn't hard to understand their extreme reaction. Mr. 3's image of being sneaky and cowardly had been firmly ingrained in everyone's minds. 

It wasn't surprising for someone like him to awaken a Devil Fruit power or suddenly experience a huge surge in strength, but Conqueror's Haki... now that was something else entirely!

It was even more exaggerated and dreamlike than Buggy becoming the Pirate King! 

(Of course, Buggy the Great, whose goal is to become Pirate King, wouldn't think so.)

In the distance, Mr. 3, who was leading the Kuja Pirates and confronting Stainless with his warriors, was still basking in the satisfaction of showing off, completely unaware that Buggy and his companions had already completely dismissed him, tricking him into food and drink, foolishly trying to replenish his iron levels.

"Boa Hancock, why are you here? Where are Koby and the other Marines?!" 

Stainless, holding a katana, looked tense as he shouted at Hancock, who stood behind Mr. 3.

Naturally, most of his attention was on Hancock.

Compared to the dangerous and threatening Pirate Empress, Mr. 3's threat was almost negligible.

What was about to unfold would completely change the opinion of this well-traveled Marine Vice-admiral!

Hancock casually pushed aside a lock of hair falling across her face, standing tall with an arrogant expression. She spoke in an overbearing tone: "Who do you think you are? Kneel and bow, and maybe I'll consider answering your question."

"You!" Stainless's face darkened, but he dared not move hastily due to his fear of Hancock's strength.

However, one of his elite soldiers, unable to tolerate the insult to their admiral, stepped forward without hesitation, pointing at Hancock and shouting loudly, "Damn pirate, how dare you speak to the Vice-Admiral like that?!"

"Fool! Don't provoke that terrifying woman!" 

Though Stainless quickly ordered his subordinate to stop, it couldn't change the unfortunate fate of the Marine soldier.

Buzz!

With just a glance, Hancock turned the Marine soldier who had tried to defend Stainless into a stone statue.

Compared to the Summit War, after two years of training, Hancock had honed her Devil Fruit abilities to a fine edge. Weaklings like this, with low willpower, could be petrified without even needing her to use striking pose!

"Boa Hancock!!"

Stainless's fury was uncontrollable. Faced with the imminent threat of being squeezed between Buggy's Pirates and the Kuja Pirates, he made a quick decision and gave his remaining conscious subordinates their final orders.

"Everyone who can still move, listen up! I will carve a path for you. No matter what happens next, just keep running forward, as far and as fast as you can! This is a life-or-death order!!"

Stainless's eyes glinted with a fatal resolve, his voice like thunder, awakening the Marine soldiers still in a daze.

The justice cloak fluttering behind him gave him boundless courage and strength.

In order to allow the young recruits behind him to grow strong, Stainless decided to gamble with his own life, charging forward with a fierce and aggressive assault toward Mr. 3 and the Kuja Pirates!

Hancock's gaze turned cold, and she stepped forward.

However, she was stopped by Mr. 3, whose right arm was continuously spraying wax fluid.

"Let me handle it. It's a perfect chance to test the limits of this move."

Mr. 3 looked calmly toward the approaching Marine admiral, his eyes hidden behind his goggles. His blood boiled with excitement as Stainless came closer.

The thick, sticky wax layer surrounding his right arm began to shift, compress, and expand with a strange bubbling sound.

Inside, it mixed with miniature gunpowder, a material similar to Buggy the Clown's Buggy Balls.

As the internal pressure of the wax fluid reached its limit, Mr. 3's wax fist expanded to twice his body size, resembling a giant's fist!

With his Devil Fruit powers and the slight enhancement of his Conqueror's and Armament Haki, the destructive power of his self-developed technique, "Grand Candle Eruption", would undoubtedly be more terrifying than when he used it in Kuja Island!

"Don't overestimate yourself, Mr. 3. My target isn't you!"

Stainless gripped his pitch-black katana tightly, veins bulging as he charged up his strength, intending to strike down Mr. 3 in an instant.

Based on his analysis of the information about the members of the Buggy Pirates, he was absolutely confident he could pull off such a feat!

"Then come and try it."

Mr. 3 remained unfazed, casually tilting his head to the right, causing the flame-shaped '3' above his head to ignite the giant wax fist.

Boom!!!

With a deep, oppressive explosion, the pure white wax fist was instantly set ablaze, transforming into a fiery beast that seemed ready to devour everything in its path!

"What? This technique?!"

Stainless's heart skipped a beat, and the absolute confidence that had filled his face instantly shattered and disappeared.

His eyes widened in disbelief, for the figure before him now seemed to merge with that of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!

However, Mr. 3 had no intention of giving him time to react. He leapt into the air, raising his fiery giant fist and bringing it down with a crushing blow!

"Grand Candle Eruption!!!"

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